Eternity to Play Cards
by AmberellaJaney
Summary: The world is in ruins because of the murderous mage known as the scarlet monster. Discarded by society, secret mage Mikan must protect her brother, and volunteers to trap the scarlet monster outside reality, even if she must sacrifice herself. One-shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

**Mikan's POV:**

I held Yoichi, my little brother, close as he cried in his sleep. Nightmares had plagued him for some time now. In this land of magic, there were many like us; left to die as those more privileged took what they could before fleeing from the scarlet monster.

The world had been in dire straits even before the scarlet monster arose. Famine, disease, and corruption were and are all too common. The thing that kept it from Armageddon was magic. With magic, amazing feats could be accomplished to help others. Not everyone had it, though. It was usually inherited. Our parents were low-level mages, though Yoichi had not inherited any power. I had, though my powers were weak enough that I usually didn't use them. We lived happily, in a cozy cottage in the country. Everything changed when I was ten.

…

The king of our country had been ill with the plague. When Kuonji recovered, one of the few who managed to survive the horrible disease, rumors floated about that he'd lost his mind. Apparently, though I knew he merely feared being dethroned, mages were a danger to the public, as a secret society of mercenary mages had been discovered. Our monarch, or tyrant, ordered the execution/imprisonment of all found to have magic power. Other countries soon followed his example. Although this seems like a ridiculous lie to tell, the way his councilmen spun the tale had many believing and hating. First they turned on the mages who been cruel or distant. They usually just slaughtered them in darkened corners. But sometimes, usually in smaller towns, they would make a show of it; hanging, burning at the stake, guillotine.

Next, they came after those who had helped them. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Brother against brother. Some who were killed were not even mages, just victims of paranoia.

It was during this second stage that my parents were targeted. My father had seen the mob coming from our window. He quickly drew the curtains and locked the door before lifting up a wooden panel from the floor beneath the stairs. I'd seen him messing around down there a month before, but hadn't thought about much. He'd known that this was going to happen, and had made a small panic room, big enough for me and a small bundle. My mother cried as she hugged me close and kissed my forehead. My father then lifted me in his arms, did as my mother had done, and then lowered me down into the space. My parents placed six-year-old Yoichi in my arms, patting his head with tears in their eyes.

"Both of you must stay quiet. And always stay strong," said my father.

"Remember we love you. Protect each other," wept my mother.

With that, my father positioned the wooden panel back in place. Through the spaces between the wood, I watched as people broke down the door and stormed into the house. I kept my hand on Yoichi's head, keeping him pressed against me so he couldn't see the horror I knew I was about to witness. I knew all of these people, villagers from the nearest town.

"Where are your damn brats, you demons?!" spat one man. Reo, the baker. He used to give me free cinnamon rolls.

"We knew you'd come eventually, so we sent them to live with relatives," lied my father. All our relatives were long dead.

"I suppose we'll let the demon spawn live then. Not like they're like you. They're normal, human, just unlucky to be born to monsters," sneered another man. It seemed since Yoichi had no power, I rarely went to town, and I had little and sparsely used powers, they'd assumed I wasn't a mage.

"Why are you doing this? What have we ever done to you?" cried my mother.

"You killed my child!" screamed one woman. Nadeshiko, the wife of a farmer. She'd had only stillbirths until her latest pregnancy. The child had been born alive but weak, and had died days later, despite my parents attempts to heal it. "You cursed my womb and when your curse didn't work, you killed my only live child!"

"There was nothing we could do!" my mother tried to reason. She was stopped when one man brought up a sickle and slit my mother's throat. Blood sprayed, staining the walls. My father began to call her name, but was cut off by a butcher's knife. Both of their corpses sprawled to the ground, their blood pooling together, eyes wide and staring.

The mob walked about, laughing and boasting. I was crying silently, holding Yoichi so tightly he squirmed in my grip. They were gone now, gone from the room. I could hear them upstairs, looting. When they returned, their arms full with our possessions, one free handed man came with his saw and cut off my parents heads; proof to get the bounty on mages. With that, they all marched out.

I was going to wait perhaps an hour, make sure they were long gone, but someone had thrown a torch through the window. The house was made of wood, and the fire spread quickly. Coughing, I push up the panel and hauled myself out. I staggered towards the back window, the smoke horribly suffocating. I pushed out and tried to climb out the back window, but in my haste I'd forgotten to keep my hand on Yoichi's head, and he looked back to see our parents headless, burning bodies. He trembled in my arms.

I ran into the woods, and once we were a safe distance away as not to be seen by any straggling mage hunters, I looked back. I saw our happy home, burning with our dead parents inside, and burning its way into my mind.

…...

After that, we ran to the city. I was careful to never use my magic, so we fit in among the other 'scum scrapers', as the well-off officials, who'd benefitted from the mage hunts, called the orphaned children living in alleys. I stole and cheated to get us food and anything we needed. Sometimes, I went hungry, but I always made sure my little brother had something to put in his stomach.

The relatively few mages that managed to escape the hunts had sailed away and formed protected colonies on a previously uninhabited island. Why hadn't I gone to the colonies, one might ask. They only allowed mages, which would mean leaving Yoichi behind. I would never do that if I could help it.

Four years passed. It was getting harder to take care of myself. As I grew, men leered, imagining and sometimes trying to do what they wanted to the scum scraper girl with tarnished gold hair and eyes. Those features also earned me a nickname among the other scum scrapers. The Goldless Golden Thief. I had another nickname, one I would never tell Yoichi, about what I did to those perverted men.

Yoichi rarely spoke, and almost always had nightmares when he slept. He did his best to help me, scrounging through the garbage for things to sell, but I never allowed him to steal. The punishments were awful, if you were caught.

It was during this time that the scarlet monster appeared.

Despite his title, the scarlet monster was a man. A boy, really, not much older than me. He was supposedly a mage left over from the hunts, with an extreme amount of power. He was called the scarlet monster because both his eyes and the color of his magic were crimson. He went about, withering crops, slaughtering people with little mercy. Occasionally, he would allow children to live. With his attacks, the kingdom was falling, and more people were dying of starvation, not to mention his own murders. Even after he managed to kill Kuonji, who'd started the mage hunts, he continued on his bloodstained path. Perhaps another mage could've defeated him, if they hadn't been eliminated.

I hated him. Oh, I'd never seen him. If he ever came close to the city we lived in, we scum scrapers who could high-tailed it out of there. But I hated him all the same. Not just because of the lives he ended, but also for proving many of those stereotypes that started the mage hunts. He made more people believe the hunts were justified. That my parent's murders were justified.

Rumors say that his magic is surrounding the land, that he'll kill us all in one foul swoop.

I say, let him try. I would let the world rot, so long as I could protect my brother.

…

I was eighteen. Yoichi was fourteen. He shook in my arms, the nightmare terrifying him. I would have woken him up, but it had taken him hours to get to sleep.

Since the scarlet monster was destroying so many workers and wares, the economy or whatever was failing. It was getting harder and harder for poor people like us to survive. Those who were wealthier were being careful to watch their property, making stealing anything of value near impossible. And of course no one threw anything away anymore; everything had its use in times like these. Yoichi had almost given up his rummaging. And earlier that day I'd nearly had my hand sliced off by a royal guard who caught me trying to filch an apple.

That was the first day I had ever had to let Yoichi go hungry. I myself had not eaten for nearly a week. I could hear his stomach growl as he unconsciously wept.

Yoichi had sprung up like a weed. He was all arms and legs, tall, and lanky. In some ways, I liked it; he could protect himself more. In other ways, it was troublesome; he required more food, and clothing him was an issue. Even now, his shirt was too short, lifting to show his stomach every time he breathed. His ragged pants came to their unraveling end mid-calf. He was barefoot, like me. My own 'dress' was just random fabric patches sewn together with spare thread.

I shivered, and pulled Yoichi closer to me, trying to warm both of us. I heard his stomach growl once more, and gritted my teeth. With a quick moment of thought, and an exhausted sigh, I gently pushed out from Yoichi. I laid him on the ground, beneath our little lean-to in the alley. He stirred but didn't wake.

I walked through the alley, edging around the other scum scrapers we shared it with. I made my way through the city, heading towards the center. That's where those who can afford luxuries live, their community encircled by a high wall, guarded at all times. And why was I going there?

To sell myself. I wasn't going to let Yoichi starve like me. Sending him to bed hungry that day felt like a punch in the gut. I didn't care about virtue anymore. I knew I was decently pretty, according to wanna-be molesters. And I was somewhat infamous. Tales of the Goldless Golden Thief spread from city to city, which was convenient. It meant other scum scrapers knew not to mess with me. I would try to get a hefty sum for the Golden Thief's virginity.

I came within view of the wealthy community. The stone wall rose like a wave above the small hobbles of the common folk. I saw the bridge where prostitutes lined up every night so that the guards could admit them.

I knew a lot of those girls. I was truly dreading this. Not just because I would have to let men have their way with me, but also because those girls would know. They'd always called me uppity for not stooping to their level sooner. Now that I had, they wouldn't just like me stoop. They'd make me get on my knees and beg.

I was almost to the bridge when I saw a guard nailing a notice to a lamppost. Usually I would just ignore this; it would just be some new punishment for law breakers. But there was something about it that caught my eye. A reward. I waited until the guard had vanished down the street before examining the notice.

**WANTED:**

**ANY MAGES REMAINING IN THE AREA**

**TO ELIMINATE THE THREAT OF THE SCARLET**

**MONSTER. COME TO THE CASTLE TO REGISTER**

**WITH THE COUNCIL. NO HARM WILL BE BROUGHT**

**TO ANY MAGES. LIFE LONG FORTUNE**

**AS REWARD. RESPOND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.**

I ripped the notice the notice from the post, gritted my teeth, and spun right around. I ran back to the alley.

…

The next morning, I dragged Yoichi out from our single thin blanket as soon as he awoke. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and unknowingly grabbed his empty stomach. That action made me flinch, and steeled my resolve. I collected our few possessions before grabbing his hand and heading towards the city gates. Yoichi kept asking me where we were going, but I kept quiet. I knew if I told him our destination, I'd have to tell him why. And then he'd put up a fight, and I'd give in.

A few days of rough traveling later (during which I had caught a squirrel and gathered berries to scrape by) we arrived in the capital city. The castle stood tall in its majestic beauty, but the damage both it and the capital sustained when the scarlet monster attacked was obvious. Collapsed ceilings, buildings reduced to rubble.

We arrived at the palace gates where two guards stopped me. I simply held up the notice (which I'd been keeping in my brazier) and they escorted me and my brother inside. Yoichi hadn't seen the writing on the paper, and kept trying to snatch it from me, so I stuffed it back into its hiding place.

The guards kept giving me strange looks, but I ignored them. Eventually, we reached a large wooden door that that to an echoing chamber. The chamber was full of bickering officials, who all stopped speaking when they saw us enter the room.

"What's this then?" asked one. At first glance I thought it was a woman. Instead, it was a feminine-looking man.

"That… That notice you put out, sir. The one about the scarlet monster?" said one guard, obviously nervous. At the words 'scarlet monster', Yoichi sent me a sharp and questioning look.

"For true?" said the man, surprise, hope, and… doubt warring in his eyes as he looked from me to my brother.

"Yes," I told him. "I'm thanking of taking you up on your offer."

…

After that, I had Yoichi taken to a separate room, despite his protests. The councilmen were quick to fulfill my requests, sitting me down at the large table in the chamber and pouring me some aged wine. Now they all sat at the table as well, openly staring at me.

"Tell me girl," said one man with glasses. "How can we be sure you're a mage?"

Seeing his point that I could be just another powerless scum scraper playing on their fear, I looked about for something even my limited powers could do. My eyes fell upon the vase of dead flowers at the center of the table. I pointed at it.

"Hand that to me," I ordered. They complied, passing the vase down. When it was sitting before me on the mahogany surface, I focused in on it. With a wave of my hand, the crooked black stems straightened and greened. The dry brown petals turned soft and colorful. I had brought the blossoms back to life.

While they exclaimed at my demonstration, I tried not to show what that spell took out of me. I was quite weak in magic, and even that made me want to pant. I willed the sweat that had beaded on my forehead to go unnoticed.

"So, do you really think you can best the scarlet monster?" asked the feminine man. He had watched me oddly since I'd first arrived, like he was trying to remember something. "Obviously you do. That reward is not worth much if you're dead."

"As a matter of fact, I do not think I can." My words solicited gasps and angry murmurs from around the table. "Not best him, at least. But there is something I can do that will have the same effect; the monster out of your hair. A spell I learned of some time ago. A seal to lock him out of reality. The problem is that I would be sealed right along with him."

"If you're sealed, what do you get out of this bargain?" asked the glasses man. He had suspicion written all over his face.

"You give that reward to my brother, the boy who came with me," I told him.

"Why do you not simply have your brother help you? Perhaps with your combined powers, besting the scarlet monster would be possible," he proposed, wagging his finger.

"My brother was not born a mage. Why do you think I did not run to the colonies?" I said, pissed he would suggest risking my brother's life so lightly. Typical higher-class.

"I see," he returned, a calculating look on his face.

"And if you even think about cheating my brother out of that reward, I'll be able to see what's going on, and break the seal, leaving you back where you were," I lied. I had no idea how to watch what was happening in the real world once I created the seal. "We have a deal?"

The councilmen all looked to each other, whispers going around. When it was quiet, the feminine man turned to me.

"We have a deal."

…

Things moved quickly after that. The councilmen arranged for me to be fitted with armor, but I denied it. At their insistence, I was fitted with an outfit for the sake of ceremony. I went barefoot, and left my hair down, as I liked it. They gave me a dress made of golden chainmail. Apparently, they'd realized I was the Goldless Golden Thief, and found gold flattering. That, or they just thought gold would bring out my hair and eyes to make me look less like a scum scraper. The dress was sleeveless, two straps of mail curving out of the top and fastening behind my neck.

As the chattering seamstresses had bustled about to clothe me, I considered just running away, finding Yoichi, and letting the two of us live off the fortune I wore. The thought disappeared quickly. I had made a promise, and so long as they honored their end, I would honor mine.

They also forged a sword, most likely for show and fanfare. It was a handsome instrument, though. A polished gold handle and hilt, and a shining silver blade with swirls of gold etched across.

After the seamstresses finished, they left me alone in the small bedroom. Bored, I looked out the only window, and smirked. One of the councilmen had probably repeated my sentiments about running away; the window was extremely high above the ground.

The sound of the door opening caused me to turn. At the door stood a handsome young man; Yoichi. He'd been clothed in a fine jacket, and quality trousers. And shoes, glorious shoes. Someone had brushed his hair and washed him up, just as they'd done to me. Still, he looked uncomfortable and out of place, like when he was small and would try on one of father's shirts. A child in adult's clothing.

The memory echoed in my mind as I walked up to him and placed my hand on his cheek. He was over a head taller than me now.

"You look nice," I told him, smiling. The pain on his face took me by surprise before he pulled me into a hug. The embrace was tight, making it somewhat difficult to breath, but I didn't struggle. I felt his body shake with sobs as it had done in his sleep so often.

"Do not do this!" he cried "You don't have to do this!"

So, they'd told him what was going on. With a grimace that he'd most likely had the news delivered by an unsympathetic stranger, I wrapped my arms around him, my fingers clenching into the jacket's material at his back.

"I do."

With a slight bit of guilt, I pushed away from him so I could see his face. The tears running from his eyes made my heart ache. But I forced myself to muster up a smile.

"Don't cry. It's my decision. Just do me a favor and live happily. Find a nice girl, and have a family. But don't rush into it. Make sure she's the right one. And I think two kids is a nice number, but maybe you want only one, or three, or…" I knew I was babbling.

Yoichi just pulled me back into the hug, before someone clearing their throat got our attention. It was the feminine man.

"It's time to go."

…...

We were sitting in a carriage, on our way to the scarlet monster's location; some small town to the north. Yoichi and I sat side by side on one seat, the feminine man, who I now knew to be called Narumi, sitting alone across from us.

"Here are my instructions," I began, giving Narumi a business-like stare. "Keep everyone as far away as possible. I'll go out alone, and get as close as I can. The spell will send us both to a place outside of reality. Oh, I forgot. I need something to bond the seal."

"Like what?"

"Something sturdy enough to last a few blows. And nice enough that even if those in the future who might not know of the seal would hesitate to break it. Like…" I looked to the sword next to me. Taking it in my hands, I tested its balance idly. "This will do. When the seal is in place, this will be left behind. Make sure it is never broken, or the seal breaks with it."

"I understand," replied Narumi. "Now, if I may bring up another topic, was your mother named Yuka, by any chance?"

Yoichi and I both stiffened.

"How did you know that?" I asked. He gave a sad smile.

"Yuka was an old friend of mine. You're the spitting image of her, but you act more like Izumi," he explained, studying my face. "Mikan is a lovely name. I was their when they picked it out. The last time I saw you, you were a little baby. They decided to move to the country soon after you were born, and I lost touch."

"Now, that I think about it," I mused. "I believe my mother mentioned a Narumi once or twice."

"Really?! I'd thought she'd forget all about me!" he chirped, a happy look on his face. Something about his look and tone of voice threw me off.

"You… You loved our mother, didn't you?" broke in Yoichi. The surprised look on Narumi's face told me my brother had hit the nail on the head. He gave another sad smile.

"It's true, though my love was much unrequited. She belonged with your father. If I had to give her up to any man, I'm glad it was him." He looked to me once more. "Your parents would be proud of you, you know."

"I hope," I sighed.

…

The carriage stopped at the edge of a desolate town. As I looked out the narrow windows, I saw its population running from its gates, carrying large bundles, leading children, and herding animals. Fear carved lines into the faces of adults, and widened the eyes of the youths. I could see blood red clouds swirling above the center of town, and the heat was stifling. I was sure this wasn't the natural climate of this area.

We disembarked, and pushed against the flow of scared citizens. A few tried to stop us, but Narumi held up some sort of paper. I guessed it was some announcement of my conquest of the scarlet monster. One woman saw it and stared at me in shock, before going on her knees and thanking me with tears dripping onto the cobble stone. I helped her to her feet awkwardly, but the scene had caused many to look at me in awe.

We finally pushed past them all and reached a part of town that had been completely evacuated. It was then that I stopped in my tracks, the two men with me going another few steps before realizing I did not follow. They turned to give me curious expressions, and I returned their looks with one of grave determination.

"This is where I go alone," I said decidedly.

"What! No way!" cried Yoichi, fists balled. "I'm coming with you until the end! I can't leave you alo-"

He stopped when Narumi put a hand on his shoulder.

"There is nothing we can do, Yoichi. We'll only get in the way."

"But…"

My younger brother looked to me, and it took all my strength not to break down in tears right then and there. In the shadows of the face of the young man before me, I saw the little boy who had his childhood ripped away. The one I used to play hide-and-seek with in our little cottage. The one Father would lift up on one shoulder as he lifted me up on the other. The one Mother would hold close and wipe dirt from his cheek, dirt from our hikes in the forest. The one who had followed me about like a puppy, because he thought his older sister was the greatest.

Narumi had the decency to turn away and give us privacy as I threw myself into Yoichi, hugging him close. I hid my face in his chest, knowing if I had to look him in the eye again, there was no guarantee I wouldn't back out and sentence us to a life of starvation, cold, and most likely running from the royal council and their demands.

"I love you, Mikan. You're the best sister I could ever have," he said, emotion raw in his voice. He squeezed me tightly, and I let his warmth soak into me, memorizing all I could about him, before I pushed away. I gave once last glance to his face, his eyes glittering, took the sword from Narumi's waiting hands, and then turned and walked away towards the center of town.

I didn't look back.

…

After I was sure they could no longer see or hear me, I crouched down next to the wall of an abandoned bakery, and cried. I wrapped my arms around myself and let the bottled up emotions I'd held in for eight years burst out. I kept myself from screaming, but whimpers were unavoidable. At one point, I took the damned sword in my hands, and had the overwhelming urge to slam it down on the ground. I went ahead and submitted to the urge, since a vessel so breakable as to be shattered with a single blow was useless for the seal. To both my relief and anger, it clanged down and remained in one piece.

When I had finally regained my composure, wiping away the last of the tears and somewhat sure my eyes were no longer puffy, I stood up, collected the sword, and walked briskly towards the red clouds.

After a few minutes, I thought I heard footsteps other than my own. I stopped and listened, but silence greeted me. I fell onto my behind as the building I was next to exploded from a beam of fluorescent red. Stone bits rained down and dust made me cough.

The building was half-demolished now, and I looked in the direction the destructive beam had come from.

There stood a man, not much older than me, with midnight hair and eyes the shocking color of freshly spilled blood. He was stunning, and when those blood-bathed eyes turned on me, I barely suppressed a shudder.

Reason told me this was the scarlet monster.

I quickly got to my feet, clutching the sword in one hand. He watched me like I was an insect just interesting enough to not squash immediately. I in return studied him, trying to detect any movement that hinted at an attack. His hand still crackled with thin red beams, like miniature lightning, from his earlier blast.

I tried to think of a way to get closer to him. I had to try to touch him, or problems could arise in the seal. So, I thought up a quick and rash plan.

I smiled at him. That caught him off guard, I could see by the way his brows rose, so I took a few small steps towards him. When he noticed this, his brows came down in a scowl. He raised his hand and red energy came out. It hit the ground; the ground I'd been standing on seconds before leaping out of the way.

I ran towards him, yet he didn't seem flustered at all. Cocky bastard.

He probably thought I was going to attack him with that stupid sword. Rumor was it that he could melt any weapon that threatened him. So I was a nuisance, not a serious opponent to him. Or so he thought.

I was but a few sprints away from him. His hand twitched and more of the crimson magic shot towards me. I narrowly dodged it, and swung the sword towards him. He began to smirk in victory. But at the last second, I moved the sword back. He looked to me sharply, but I had already taken hold of his upper arm. My magic surged out, burning and painful. My gold energy swallowed his crimson…

And we both disappeared, the sword clattering to the ground the only thing left.

…

We ended up somewhere… white.

White was the only word to describe it. There was no line separating one plane from another, though I sat on what felt like a perfectly smooth floor. Everything was an unadulterated white, like a fresh piece of paper. Well, everything except us, and the golden bars of my magic energy that kept him divided from me. They continued up a certain height. And they went on in both directions, curving down in the distance like we were on a hill. Those bars were the only things that made me sure there _were _any planes.

It amazed me that my magic was still in use, considering it was usually so weak, but I suppose since this dimension had been created by my magic, I had no limits within it.

The scarlet monster sat on the other side of the bars, sitting with his legs stretched out like me, and rubbing his temple like he'd hit his head. Taking in his surroundings, he looked directly at me, and glared.

"What the hell did you do?" he growled. There was no real volume to his voice, yet it demanding and deadly.

"Well, I presume I transported us to another dimension, like I was supposed to. But then again, maybe we're both just dreaming, hmm?" I said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. I felt despair over my self-banishment, and felt like taking it out on this idiot. This mass murdering idiot.

"Why would you do something like that?" he yelled. He stood and stomped towards me. He tried to grab ahold of one, but it sent a shock through his arm, and he got thrown back a few feet. I didn't bother holding back my chuckle.

"Welcome to eternity, scarlet monster."

…

"Hey Idiot," the scarlet monster snarled at me. "Why are you laying like that? We can't sleep, stupid."

It was true. In order to keep us alive without food or water, this dimension halted life processes; eating, drinking, processes that would keep us indisposed, even breathing, and, yes, sleeping.

I was lying on my back, one arm thrown over my closed eyes, the other over my abdomen. I didn't know how long we'd been in that cursed place, but it felt like ages. The scarlet monster rarely spoke to me. I think he was trying to use his magic to break the seal, but my magic was supreme in this world. Still, his distance left me to entertain myself, and I was running out of ideas.

"I know we can't sleep, but there's nothing else to do. It's not like you're the greatest company," I grunted. He was annoying, only speaking long enough to insult me.

I could feel the weight of his stare, and I removed my arm from my face with a sigh. When he tried to meet his gaze he turned away; but not before I saw his intense studious expression.

I shut my eyes again.

"It's been a year since we came in here, you know," he said out of nowhere. I sat up and stared at him in shock. He just returned my stare emotionlessly.

"How could you possibly know that?!" I cried, eyes wide. He smirked at my expression, and I felt like punching him.

"I may not be able to fully break through this damned seal, but I cracked it enough to see what's happening in the real world."

"Really?!" I couldn't believe this. Maybe, if he let me see, I could check on Yoichi… "I don't suppose you would allow me to see?"

He smiled at me, and I had the sinking feeling he was mocking the smile I'd given him when we'd first 'met'.

"No way in Hell," he said evenly, clearly content with himself.

"Damn Bastard," I muttered.

"Why are you even doing this?"

His question threw me off, and I blinked repeatedly before giving him a curious look. I saw a vein pop out slightly at his temple.

"You obviously do not enjoy it here. And if you truly wished it, this seal would break. Did your damn rich daddy tell you to be a hero, little brat? Did he say you'd be worshiped throughout time, huh? Guess what, wench; no one knows who you are!"

It took a second for his words to register. Once they did, I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing. I clutched my side as I ran out of breath, and my eyes watered. The scarlet monster just stared at me, annoyance and confusion evident.

"You… You think I'm…" I said between chuckles. "You think I am the daughter of a wealthy official?"

"You aren't?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No! Farthest thing from. I'm a scum scraper."

He stared at me. I was becoming frustrated with these stupid looks and stares. But the stare he gave me now said he was trying to tell if I was lying.

"I thought scum scrapers were very self-serving. If you're doing this for money, you're even less intelligent than I thought."

"I had them give the money to my brother, you jerk," I snapped at him.

"Your brother?"

"Yes, my brother. We were running out of money, and going hungry, so…"

Silence ensued. I figured we were done with what had been our longest conversation yet. Then a whole in the unbroken whiteness appeared. It was black at first, and then sparked into a colored image; one of the real world.

"Wha-" I started.

"I don't want you to continue on your blubbering," he said, not looking at me.

After that, I had him zoom in on certain areas, until we found my brother. I saw a handsome young man, slowly getting over the loss of his sister, but never forgetting her. I saw him in his new estate, never wanting for anything but family in the newly blooming world created by the disappearance of the man beside me.

That's how we past the next sixty years or so. The man called monster let me watch as my brother grew up, learned new things, traveled the land, met a wonderful girl, got married, and had children.

He had three of them; two boys and a girl. He named the girl Mikan. I saw him tell stories of his courageous sibling. He never told them the one of how I disappeared though. And I know why. So they wouldn't waste their lives trying to be like me, or even finding me.

I cried when he died. He'd made it to the ripe old age of seventy-eight. The scarlet monster didn't say a word as my silent tears rolled down, just watched. I suppose some part of me had believed I'd get to see Yoichi face-to-face at least one more time. Now, it would never happen.

Now, there was no one from my old life left.

…

Another few years later, the scarlet monster and I still rarely spoke. Mostly, we watched the real world, pondering over the changes that had taken place. New innovations and techniques. But now I was becoming curious over my only acquaintance.

"Hey, scarlet monster."

"What, idiot?"

"I'm booooooooooorrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeed!"

"What exactly am I supposed to do about it?"

"Let's play a game!"

"No."  
"Please!"

"Pleeeeeeeeease!"

"No."

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplea-"

"All right!"

"YAY!" I threw my hands in the air.

"And it's Natsume."

"What is?"

"My name, stupid." He gave me a condescending look.

"Oh, well I'm Mikan."

"Yeah, I guessed."

"Right."

"What game do you want to play, stupid?"

"I just told you its Mikan!"

"Whatever."

"Um, let's play…charades!"

"No way."

"Oh, come on!"

"Something else."  
"Fine. How about… ugh, I can't think of anything!"

"How about cards?"

"Who's the stupid one now? We don't have a deck, remember?"

Natsume held up his empty hand. Between one second and the next, a deck of cards had appeared on his palm.

"How did you do that?!"

"It seems that I can distort a small bit of reality here, not enough to break the seal yet, but enough to construct small objects."

"Okay. Then let's play cards.

"You'll never beat me, wench."

"Never say never when playing a game with a scum scraper."

We played a ton of hands, alternating wins. He smirked when he won, I stuck out my tongue. We would lay our cards out in the space between two bars.

Several decades passed, and we played other games; chess, hangman, one awful game of I-spy. We also checked up regularly on the real world.

One day, I brought the bars down. Nothing left to separate us. When he saw this, he lifted a brow at me.

"I'm getting tired of reaching through those little spaces. If you try to hurt me in any way though, I'll have you flying back and behind bars again in a snap. Huh, I guess there's something good about not being able to sleep." I stopped and gave him a mischievous grin over my shoulder. "It'll be harder for you to sneak up on me."

…

More decades past. We played more games, and I actually talked him into a few rounds of charades. He'd scowled at me the whole time, however.

One day, Natsume was particularly brooding. I tried to get him to play checkers, but he completely ignored me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! You've locked me in here for over a hundred years, you stupid woman!" He turned and glared, the hatred I hadn't seen in a century leaking through.

"I needed to take care of my brother! And you were killing people!"

"Those powerless fools deserved it! They killed innocent people on the word of a crazy king!"

"You already killed the king! Why did you continue to kill?!"

"All those people committed the crimes! They killed mages, killed them without mercy! They killed my family!"

I stayed silent.

"They killed my parents, and my little sister! They thought I was powerless, because my magic was so strong it was kept sealed away. They killed my family when I was loitering in the woods, and when I came back, and they'd already burned their bodies, do you know what they said? They said 'you're welcome'! They thought I'd be grateful they killed my family! And then they expect me to just take over the family affairs and be perfectly fine!"

He glared at me.

"I bet you watched some executions, didn't you? Thought that the death of the evil mages was amusing?"

I stared at him in confusion.

"Wait, what?"

"What mage did you kill to get the spell that brought us here, hmm? Some little girl you stopped from running to the colonies?"

I continued to stare at him. He became exasperated.

"Well?"

"You idiot."

My words baffled him.

"Wha-"

"I'm a mage, too."

He no longer looked angry, but stunned.

"You… you liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Then why didn't you go to the colonies?"

"My brother wasn't born with the power. I wouldn't leave him."

"How did you survive the mage hunts?"

I told him. I told him everything, maybe because I'd never been able to tell anyone before, and needed to get it off my chest. I told him of my father's hiding place, of watching the villagers murder my family, the looting and decapitation, and the burning of our cottage. I was becoming hysterical, and I didn't care. I told him about moving from city to city, and the nickname I'd earned.

"Wait, you're the Goldless Golden Thief?" he asked. He'd remained quiet during the story.

"Yeah, so?"

"You're relatively famous. I've heard a few rumors."

"Oh, gee. The monsters heard of me. Lucky me." My tone was flat.

"Why? Why would a mage do this to another mage? Why would you help those traitorous humans?"

"I had to take care of my bro-"

"Your brother. Surely there were other options! Huh, or maybe you just admired that damn Kuonji!"

I smacked him; hard. He reeled back, and stared at me. I, meanwhile, was fuming.

"Other options?! You want other options! I was on the verge of whoring myself! I was literal walking towards the admittance bridge when I saw the mages wanted add to get rid of you! Maybe I am too prideful, not wanting to do what so many girls were forced to do, because of the damage _you_ did, but never accuse me of admiring that… that… that rubbish king!"

Rubbish kings were crazy old folk who lived in rubbish piles. They claimed the piles as their territory, and sometimes you saw two fighting over one. They never wanted to give up their rubbish, usually taking the best items. Generally, the only way to pick from the rubbish was to team up with someone, and have them distract the rubbish king while you filched what you could. Many treated it like a game.

"Rubbish King?" said Natsume. He looked towards the ground and I had a small fear building in my stomach. It surprised me when his lips twitched into a grin and he laughed. The scarlet monster laughed!

"Are you okay? Did I hit you that hard?"

He stopped laughing, but continued grinning, and shot me a measuring look. He leaned forward, grabbed hold of one of my shoulders, and pushed. We fell back, and I braced myself for the landing. But Natsume caught himself with one arm, and held me up with the other. He lowered me down so I laid on my back and he hover over me, one hand on either side of my head.

"What are you doing?!"

"You said you were going to sell yourself anyway, right? We have eternity, might as well have fun."

"What the hell do you me-"

He cut off my words with his lips. They slid over mine and rotated. I gasped, and he used the opening to invade. My eyes stayed wide, and I remained paralyzed. Well, that is until he did something even more shocking.

He grabbed my chest.

My wide eyes narrowed into a glare. I bit his tongue, and he jerked his head back to give me a scolding expression. I used the opening to punch him. He cursed and leaned away from me, putting a hand to his cheek.

The golden energy I hadn't used in some time zinged out, smacking into Natsume, and dividing us into our original zones. He tried to talk me into taking the bars down, but I curled up and turned away, ignoring the pervert.

I kept the barriers up a few days, but eventually took them down. We continued talking and playing games.

It seems the event had been enough to break the ancient ice. Natsume told of his childhood and I told him of mine. We laughed and raged together. I felt a pang in my heart when he told me of his sister. She sounded like a lovely girl, one taken too early by cruel means.

"I can never forgive those bastards. She didn't deserve it!" he snarled one day. I gave him a look of absolute sadness.

"Natsume, I know you miss her, but you…" I sighed. "You just became what they were trying to make mages out to be. You proved all their stupid lies."

He stared at me, absorbing my words.

We spent a day or two in silence.

Sometimes, when he thought I was distracted, usually by watching the real world, he would try to kiss me as he'd done before. It always resulted in a few days of raised barriers.

Cards remained our favorite game. We had picked up a new amusement though. We attempted the form of speech adopted in the present. They called the form we had used in our time _Old English._ The new form was much simpler, and awkward on our tongues.

There was one other thing we used to pass time. While I knew how to read, I wasn't exactly a scholar. Natsume materialized books and taught me about verbs and prepositions.

And so we'd passed more decades.

…

**The Real World; Modern Times; Several Centuries after the Original Seal:**

**Third Person POV:**

Two young twin boys zipped through their old family estate, getting scolded by passing maids. They were playing tag, and constantly bumping into walls and furniture. Unfortunately, one tried to dodge his brother's hand, and knocked into a wooden stand, that held a rusted sword. It struck the ground and split in two.

"Uh oh. That sword is supposed to have some historical and mystical importance," said one, his finger raised like a teacher making a point. "Mom and Dad are going to kill you, Kitsu."

"It's your fault too, Koko. And besides," the boy set the stand back up, and set the two sword pieces on it so that it seemed they were still bonded. He stepped back to admire his work. "They'll never know."

The brothers laughed and continued their game.

**Mikan's Pov:**

Natsume and I were playing black jack when the dimension began to shift and rumble. We both looked about in confusion. The cards disappeared.

A whole opened up beneath us, and we fell. We fell into darkness. I shut my eyes, terrified. I thudded into something hard, knocking the breath out of me. But something about the impact, even as I gritted my teeth, filled me with nostalgia. The ground was… prickly, like grass.

I opened my eyes, and sure enough, the greenery of a modern day park greeted my vision. In the distance, I saw a woman pushing a stroller and a man jogging. Next to me was Natsume, taking in the area like I was.

Natsume. The scarlet monster was released from his imprisonment; what would he do now?

I tried to stand, in case I needed to defend myself, but I felt weak, my knees wobbling. I fell back to the ground with a grunt. Natsume was by my side in a second. He grabbed my arm lightly, but securely.

"Are you okay?" The concern in his voice pulled the truth from.

"Centuries of continuous use seems to have caused a drain on my magic energy."

I was still wary. Natsume saw the fear on my face and gave me a calming smile.

"Mikan, I'm not going to hurt you. I know we were stuck together under bad, terrible, circumstances, but… I'd like to court you… or date you, as the term is now. I have done horrible things, and I'm far from perfest. But I want to try. What do you say?"

He opened his arms, an unsure and unexpectedly vulnerable expression on his face. I thought of the scarlet monster. I thought of the rage he felt, the rage I mirrored. I thought of his agony, and his softer side as he spoke of his family.

I smiled at him, and threw myself into his arms. He wrapped them around me, and his warmth enveloped me.

**Natsume's POV:**

I held her to me, my chest aching and my arms minutely trembling.

In my hand was a dagger. Killing was impossible in the other dimension, so I hadn't needed to think of it as an option. But now, it was.

My hand shook, yet she was content in my arms, unwitting to my possible betrayal.

I could end her now; end the only threat to my vengengance. This world was evil, despicable, cruel…

But if it could still create people like her, perhaps there was hope for it yet.

The blade dropped from my hand and disintegrated into the park soil from which I'd created it. I used my newly freed hand to pull her chin up, and place my lips over hers.

**One Year Later:**

**Third Person POV:**

A young raven-haired man walked into the town library, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He scanned the lobby and first floor shelves, searching for a certain dark-golden haired girl. He smirked as he spotted her standing on her tippy-toes to shelve a book, wearing a blouse and flowing knee-length skirt. He stalked up behind her silently, wrapping an arm around her waist. She squeaked in surprise, before turning and giving him a grin and a small peck on his cheek.

Since they'd been freed, Natsume had gotten a high-paying job as an accountant, very successful, and Mikan had become a librarian. If at any time an issue with their secret past had come up, Natsume would use his power to manipulate a few minds.

Magic was long forgotten. Nearly all who had the ability were unaware, so people chalked up the tales of mages to the imagination of their ancestors.

Both had fit in well with society, having watched it develop. They even were quite skilled in the new English, though when Mikan was excited or frustrated, she'd slip into what her coworkers called cockney.

Now, Mikan tugged on Natsume's sleeve.

"Look over there," she whispered, discreetly pointing at one table. At the table sat a blushing blond boy, perhaps fourteen, with ocean eyes. Across from him sat a bored-looking girl of the same age with dark hair and violet eyes.

"That's my great-great-great-bunch-of-greats-grandnephew, Ruka. I think he's on a study date."

"And right failing at it, it seems," Natsume observed. Mikan slightly slapped his arm.

"Leave him alone." Natsume rolled his eyes, but did not say another word about her relative's love life. Instead, he took her hand and led her towards the exit.

"I'm taking you out to dinner," he told her. She gushed over the kindness as only she would.

They had not married, not yet, but that was fact he was hoping to change. He smirked as he felt the small ring box in his pocket.

He looked to her.

"If you were to have children, how many would you want?"

The sudden question sent her blushing for a moment, before she smiled up at him.

"I think two kids is a nice number."


End file.
